I've had one rule as a parent to my children. Tell The Truth! Period. All the rest of my very weak and several failed attempts to be a successful parent revolve around that rule. And of course Christ, but Christ isn't a rule, He is our center.
I have to say that I have noted huge success from one thing. Having Christ as our Center...and following way behind in second is telling the truth. Truth...Christ...go hand in hand. My boys are very independent and both have grown to be amazing young men. Mostly because of their own doing, a little bit because of my "life lesson lecturing", I'm famous for, and when I say "a little" I mean like one of those little pebbles of sand you see an ant carrying to place among the millions of other pebbles already in place.
Last night my son and I had a very good talk. When I say good talk, I mean he sat and listened to my entire 30-45 minute life lesson lecture, repeating myself over and over again, going on rabbit trails and reiterating why that particular lesson was important... without issue. But what truly made it a good talk was that my son opened up to share "truth" with me. It wasn't the type of truth I wanted to hear. I listened to his 30 second explanation of what he is facing at this time in this season of his friendships and life in general. I was very saddened to hear that the many years of prepping him for the time when peer pressure, sex, drugs, and alcohol were going to become very real in his life and the life of his friends, had begun. My heart is not full of judgment over what he shared with me. Neither is his. Actually it's much different...it flashes me back to the moment in my own life where those things became real to me and I engaged fully in all of them, at a very young age, and then fast forward to the moment it all came flooding down and my house built on sand collapsed and my life hit bottom. Your perspective is different when you've lived through the high of the party and the low of the bottom...bottom as in suicidal. I know what poor choices lead too and I wish I could share that experience with all the teens I know who are currently choosing the party journey themselves. It never ends well. For anyone.
My son has shared with me several times that he struggles with his relationship with Christ because he isn't as open as I am about sharing Christ with others, or blogging, or reading scripture. But what he forgets is that we all have gifts and we are all in seasons of training when it comes to our relationship with Christ. We grow, we learn, we make mistakes, we learn from them, we mature, we try new things and sometimes we start over from scratch. His gift in this all right now, could very well be, being a light in a dark place. Is that hard? Yes, absolutely. By being light, he risks mocking from friends, he risks friendships, he risks reputation in the world. But he also becomes an option and a witness for others that have realized they've made wrong choices to show them that they can start over. He also points a way to a better life, simply by not engaging in certain activity. He also excels in success of all he sets his mind on accomplishing...he perseveres, he leads, he is an example of Christ, and he can do it all without preaching. He can do it by action and his commitment to Christ to honor the good works Christ has started in him.
We all have choices, we all make decisions, some better than others. Yet the best choice we can make is building a relationship with Christ. Not worrying about what that looks like to anyone but ourselves. To let Christ shine through us the best we can, trying to let him shed the layers of sin that are in our own hearts, so that we can help others find the same freedom.
Carry on Christians...
Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."
I have to say that I have noted huge success from one thing. Having Christ as our Center...and following way behind in second is telling the truth. Truth...Christ...go hand in hand. My boys are very independent and both have grown to be amazing young men. Mostly because of their own doing, a little bit because of my "life lesson lecturing", I'm famous for, and when I say "a little" I mean like one of those little pebbles of sand you see an ant carrying to place among the millions of other pebbles already in place.
Last night my son and I had a very good talk. When I say good talk, I mean he sat and listened to my entire 30-45 minute life lesson lecture, repeating myself over and over again, going on rabbit trails and reiterating why that particular lesson was important... without issue. But what truly made it a good talk was that my son opened up to share "truth" with me. It wasn't the type of truth I wanted to hear. I listened to his 30 second explanation of what he is facing at this time in this season of his friendships and life in general. I was very saddened to hear that the many years of prepping him for the time when peer pressure, sex, drugs, and alcohol were going to become very real in his life and the life of his friends, had begun. My heart is not full of judgment over what he shared with me. Neither is his. Actually it's much different...it flashes me back to the moment in my own life where those things became real to me and I engaged fully in all of them, at a very young age, and then fast forward to the moment it all came flooding down and my house built on sand collapsed and my life hit bottom. Your perspective is different when you've lived through the high of the party and the low of the bottom...bottom as in suicidal. I know what poor choices lead too and I wish I could share that experience with all the teens I know who are currently choosing the party journey themselves. It never ends well. For anyone.
My son has shared with me several times that he struggles with his relationship with Christ because he isn't as open as I am about sharing Christ with others, or blogging, or reading scripture. But what he forgets is that we all have gifts and we are all in seasons of training when it comes to our relationship with Christ. We grow, we learn, we make mistakes, we learn from them, we mature, we try new things and sometimes we start over from scratch. His gift in this all right now, could very well be, being a light in a dark place. Is that hard? Yes, absolutely. By being light, he risks mocking from friends, he risks friendships, he risks reputation in the world. But he also becomes an option and a witness for others that have realized they've made wrong choices to show them that they can start over. He also points a way to a better life, simply by not engaging in certain activity. He also excels in success of all he sets his mind on accomplishing...he perseveres, he leads, he is an example of Christ, and he can do it all without preaching. He can do it by action and his commitment to Christ to honor the good works Christ has started in him.
We all have choices, we all make decisions, some better than others. Yet the best choice we can make is building a relationship with Christ. Not worrying about what that looks like to anyone but ourselves. To let Christ shine through us the best we can, trying to let him shed the layers of sin that are in our own hearts, so that we can help others find the same freedom.
Carry on Christians...
Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."
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